What a Robot Feels
by xXCrossArrowXx
Summary: Gortys has defeated the Vault Monster and has reunited with Loader Bot. Now that he has her back, how will Loader Bot handle confessing his feelings to her?
"Loader Bot?"

The sound of her voice caused the machinery in the robot's new body to jolt. It had been so long since he'd heard her say his name, and it still sounded just as sweet. He was unsure of why she had called him, but he wasn't in anyway displeased that she did. He turned to look at her but soon found himself staring down as she rolled up to meet him. He'd have to get used to seeing her small again. Last time he saw her she had her upgraded legs; not to mention the massive height she had grown just a few minutes ago when they had fought the vault monster. To be honest, he was quite happy to see her in her original spherical form. Her blue eyes were staring right up into his own red one and that's all she did for a few seconds. Then she rolled forward, extending her arms to wrap around his legs in an embrace. Loader Bot stood in place, unsure of how to respond to this kind gesture. Why had she hugged him? Maybe she was just happy to see him again, he definitely knew he was. He took a quick glance at Fiona and Rhys who were looking at the two bots with wide grins on their faces. He wasn't sure what they could've told Gortys that would make her hug him but he was thankful. He looked down at Gortys and took notice of the happy expression displayed on her face. If Loader Bot had a human heart it would be fluttering right now, but he figured the rapid change of the electrical frequency in his inner wires was similar enough to that feeling. Still unable to find a proper response he at least wanted to say something.

"...Hi."

That's it. That was all he could get out at that moment. He felt stupid for responding that way, but when Gortys looked up at him with the delighted smile on her face the feeling seemed to just disappear. She let go of his legs and rolled backwards. Now that their embrace was over, Loader Bot decided that he really needed to catch up with her. It had been months since he'd last seen her and he didn't want anything else but to have long conversations with her again.

"Do you want to take a walk?"

He asked, making a gesture with his hand to follow him as he took a few steps away. Gortys nodded and gladly rolled up next to him. As he and Gortys began to take their stroll, he could hear Fiona behind them make a comment.

"Aw, they're so cute together!"

He shyly avoided any eye contact with her or Gortys. He almost hoped Gortys didn't hear that but considering Fiona had talked to her before she came to embrace him who knows what she could've heard beforehand. He tried to brush it off though, now was the time to talk to Gortys and Gortys only.

"You fought very well out there today, it was quite impressive."

He decided this would be a good way to start their conversation.

"Oh, I know, right?"

Gortys exclaimed, lifting her arms out to express her excitement.

"It was so cool beating up that evil vault monster! But I wouldn't have been able to do it without you guys."

Loader Bot felt glee as he listened to the robot go on and on about the battle, her whole enthusiasm toward the event was adorable to watch. Gortys then lowered her arms and looked up at him with a soft smile on her face.

"I especially wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

Loader Bot stiffened at the added comment, feeling the embarrassment already beginning to stir.

"Well, the others provided quite a bit during that battle as well. Their techniques were all very helpful and useful for the fight. I had only just-"

Gortys just giggled which caused him to stop mid sentence. She shook her head and stopped in front of him so she could make sure she had his full attention.

"No, I mean none of this would've been possible if you hadn't brought everybody together to bring me back and help me defeat the vault of the traveler."

She put her hands together and stared up at him. Loader Bot's inner mechanisms whirred at the kindness of her words and he nodded.

"How did you do all that," Gortys asked curiously, "how did you get everyone together again? Last time I saw everyone together was before we split up on Helios. And according to my log it's been months since then. Was it hard?"

Loader Bot stood in place. Recalling all the memories stored inside him of all the time that had passed before he had gotten all his friends together. How was he able to do it all? He had an answer. He knew it was true and it was a feeling he was currently feeling very strongly at the moment.

"I'm also curious how you got this sweet new body."

Gortys admitted, doing a quick circle around to get a good look of the robot's newest look. It was definitely a lot different from his old Hyperion styled Loader Bot look. He was more human like now. Loader Bot felt himself heat up and shifted around in place. No matter how flustered he would get though he was going to tell her everything. Even the truth to why he had done it all. She deserved to know after what they had put her through. He was not going to make the mistake of not telling her. He'd almost lost her once without even getting a chance. He was ready for her to know.

"Is it alright if we find a place to sit? It is quite a long tale to tell."

"Oh, of course!"

Loader Bot decided that inside what was left of Helios would be good. He could find a place where they could be alone to talk. He didn't exactly want the rest of the gang to hear what he was going to tell her quite yet. Not that he was uncomfortable with them knowing, but he was afraid that they may freak out. Not in a bad way though, but more like screaming with merriment. He was afraid he might overheat from all the attention he'd get. Ok, so maybe that was exaggerating a bit...but he'd still be pretty embarrassed.

Loader Bot and Gortys had found a nice place to settle down in a broken, but still standing room. The desk that had been in it was in shatters so Loader Bot decided to use the wood as fuel for a fire. After all it was pretty dark now that the sun was setting outside. Loader Bot got a nice flame going and now the room was lit. He sat down on the ground close to the fire and brought his knees up to his chest. Gortys took her place next to him and stared at the flames for a bit and glanced over at her friend. He seemed to be in deep thought as he watched the sparks rise from the fire and fall back to the ground as ash. She wondered what he might've been thinking about but she was about to get the answer as he began to speak.

"I guess I will start when you were… um, captured."

He took a moment to ready himself before telling his story.

"When you had gotten taken by Finch… I felt like I had failed you. Failed everyone. Because we were all doing this for you...then you were gone."

Gortys's expression saddened at his words. She could hear how genuine the guilt was in his tone.

"Then I had brought Fiona to an escape pod, telling her to find you and keep you safe. Then I got Rhys into pod before...before.."

He seemed to struggle with wanting to tell this part and Gortys set a hand on his knee.

"Before what?"

He looked at her and saw the worry on her face. He didn't want to tell her this but...she had to know.

"Before that human, Kroger, shot me. He did it multiple times. First one took my left arm, then he damaged my inner mechanisms."

He heard Gortys let out a small gasp and saw her put her hands over her mouth. She was stunned...she couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain he had been in at that moment. She didn't even want to think about how he must've looked after being mangled like that.

"Loader Bot… I'm so sorry "

He simply shook his head and brought his arms around to wrap them around his legs.

"Don't be, it was not your fault. I was doing what needed to be done to ensure you would receive the help you would need. At least… that's what I had thought at first. After Helios had crashed I had shut down after becoming weak from my injuries. When I finally powered up again I saw the light in the sky from the vault and followed it. It was quite difficult since all I had was one arm to drag myself forward. But eventually I reached a cliff edge where I could get a look at the scene unfolding in front of me."

He paused and glanced at her, seeing the look of anticipation displayed and sighed.

"What I saw… horrified me. I saw Fiona, the one I had asked to protect you, to keep you safe, shooting a rocket launcher at you. Then I watched as you...you.."

His grip tightened on his legs as he recalled that life changing moment for him. Watching Gortys be engulfed in light before letting out a scream and exploding into nothingness. It was a memory he'd give anything to have erased from his data banks. But he could never forget… how helpless he had felt as he lay, crumbled and broken on that ledge as he watched the one he loved be destroyed by people he considered his friends. Gortys took notice of how much he was struggling to tell this part of the story and leaned close to place a hand on top of his own. Loader Bot looked down at their hands, feeling comfort now during this memory that was causing him so much agony. He allowed her fingers to curl between his own and he held onto her small hand delicately. Feeling a bit better thanks to her comforting gesture he continued

"When I had seen what they had done to you… I felt so much anger and hatred inside. I believe I felt emotions no other Loader Bot ever created by Hyperion had ever felt before. Please, know that I had not known at that moment what they were doing was because you had asked them to and they had not wanted to do it. So, I felt like they had betrayed you. They had gone against my wishes to protect you and instead destroyed you. At that moment I decided on something. That no matter what would happen after this moment, I was going to find out why this had happened. So, I went back to Helios and discovered this body lying in what had been Handsome Jack's office."

He told her, gesturing with his free hand at himself.

"The body was originally meant for Jack's AI to be uploaded into it but… I needed it more than he did at that moment. I took it and put myself onto it. It was a very long process since I had only one arm and had to sort of...rip my eye out and all of other mechanical workings behind it. Eventually I had successfully installed myself onto the body and I was fully mobile again. It took me awhile to get used to how it all worked. So I took a few days to gather myself. I thought for so long about what I should do. I knew I definitely wanted to get you back. That was my main priority. But I couldn't without Rhys and Fiona, since they are imprinted on your core. So I knew I would need to capture- er, find both of them to get you back."

He still felt some shame for kidnapping his two friends so forcefully. But he had no choice, they wouldn't have come with him otherwise.

"So I found a radiation suit belonging to Hyperion and used it to disguise myself. I set up a trap that eventually lured Fiona and Rhys straight to me. Once I had both of them, I decided that I would find the truth within their memories of our journey, from both sides. Many days went on as they told me of how they first met, how they ended up finding out about you, basically everything up to the point when… Fiona had to shoot you. While they told their story I had another plan forming. I decided the only way to ever make sure you'd be at peace was to get rid of the real reason why you had been destroyed. The vault monster. I knew we were not going to be able to do it alone, I even had hired Kroger himself to find Vaughn for me."

Gortys was shocked that Loader Bot would put his trust in the guy that had almost killed him. Loader Bot took notice of the confused look upon her face and waved a hand.

"Do not be surprised, I made sure to get my own revenge. Vaughn had the upper hand, however, and soon tricked me into being captured. That's when they interrogated me and I revealed myself to them. I asked for Fiona's forgiveness because I now knew the truth of what she did. I was filled with joy at that moment to finally be back with my friends… officially."

He was getting close to finally telling her why he really had done it all. He let her hand slip from his as he shifted a bit to face her better. Gortys took this as a sign the story was about to get more intense and stared at him intently.

"I told them of the plan I had come up with to save you. Eventually they all agreed to help me. Once we had gathered the other members, we brought you back to where you had originally fought the monster. I had Rhys and Sasha put the core back in you and well, you know where it went from there."

He straightened his position a bit and watched Gortys go through a number of different emotions as she processed the whole story. She looked up at him in awe and tilted her head.

"Wow. Loader Bot… you went through so much. Even when you were faced with such big challenges you kept going."

The small robot was touched by how much .hell Loader Bot had went through just for her. Fiona had been telling the truth after all … he really did bring the all together to save her. And he really did deserve more thanks. Gortys opened her arms and embraced him tight. Loader Bot was shocked by the sudden embrace from the robot once again. She nuzzled her head against him with a wide smile on her face.

"Thank you… thank you, thank you, thank you..."

That was all she kept saying and it only caused Loader Bot to feel the fluttering again. This time, he gladly hugged her back. Bringing her closer to him… after being apart for so long. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to hold her in his arms. He had missed it way too much… He'd missed her way too much. He was ready to let her know how much she really meant to him. How he had come to grow such a strong sense to protect her, how she had changed him into the robot he was now. He was ready to tell her why he had done everything even when he was down to his last leg- or arm in this case. He pulled away from their embrace but moved his hands to where they took Gortys's own. The small robot looked down at them then back at Loader Bot. She was still smiling, and that only made Loader Bot even more sure he had to tell her now.

"I had a good reason to keep on going…" he said slowly, he felt his nerves beginning to show but he had to continue, "if it meant getting you back that's all that mattered to me."

Gortys's expression shifted to a wide eyed look and Loader Bot's red eye shifted to the side a little.

"You see… when I had first met you something about you...sparked something inside me. Something I had never experienced before in my entire time of being a working bot. Loader Bots weren't ever meant to… feel you see, we were just there to work as extra cavalry during battles or fights. When I joined the gang and met you though I began to develop myself more. I began to feel caring, longing, anger, confusion, admiration…."

His hands flexed a bit as he tried to relax himself.

"Everything a Loader Bot wasn't meant to feel. I was free and I could think and act for myself. So much of that had already begun to happen before I met you so when I did… I was suddenly feeling feelings that were completely new to myself. You.. treated me so kindly, talked to me even though I was so silent most of the time and unable to express myself like you could. I grew to like and care for you so much that I started to want to protect you no matter what. I never wanted any harm to ever come to you… so when I had seen you destroyed…"

This time he looked directly at her, not knowing if she could read the great emotion he was really feeling.

"I felt like I had lot a part of myself. It was like something inside here," he let go of one of her hands to bring it up against his chest, "..had broken."

Gortys stared at his chest for a bit in deep thought, he was hoping everything he was saying wasn't confusing her. Nonetheless, he knew she would understand the last of what he had to say.

"Gortys, I know as a robot we weren't programmed or supposed to feel this way but… I'm certain that what I feel is real."

He lifted his head to look directly into her bright blue eyes, now unreadable at this point.

"Gortys, the reason I had done all I did. Why I saved you… is because I love you, Gortys."

He watched as the small robot's expression changed to a look he's never seen before. It was so different from all the others she's expressed before. He wasn't sure how she would respond, but he was prepared for whatever she would respond with. He just hoped however their relationship would change after this...they would still be friends. Gortys finally moved after what seemed for an eternity. Her eyes shifted to stare at their hands still intertwined, then back up to Loader Bot's eye. He waited with anticipation and uncertainty. Then ever so gently he felt her forehead press right up against the top part of his eye. A small arc of electricity passed between the two of them and she pulled away. Loader Bot stared at her… dumbfounded. His inner wires were buzzing and he could feel himself beginning to heat up. What was that just now? It had felt so different but… so nice.

"Loader Bot…"

Gortys's voice snapped him out of thought and he looked at her. The biggest smile he'd ever see her display was now showing. The grip on his hands tightened and she looked at them happily.

"I feel the same about you."

Loader Bot perked up a bit at the response. A small amount of hope was beginning to fill his core.

"You were always so kind and protective… I honestly didn't realize how you actually felt until Fiona had explained to me that it was you who had come to save me. It all just clicked at that moment for me."

She giggled and looked at Loader Bot with so much appreciation and love at that moment that Loader Bot thought he was going to overheat and shut down on the spot. She had known all that time… well now he felt quite embarrassed.

"Loader Bot, it doesn't matter if we're robots or not. If we both believe this is how we feel for each other then… it is real. Because… I love you too, Loader Bot. I know that for sure now."

Loader Bot felt as though he was the happiest being in the whole universe at that point. All his worries, fears, and bad thoughts seemed to disappear thanks to those words. Gortys loved him back… and he knew that it was a feeling bigger than anything in their programming. Loader Bot's joy caused him to reach out and embrace her. This time, it was Gortys who was caught off guard as the slender bot somehow managed to hold onto her so gently. She happily hugged him back though, resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a blissful giggle. They held onto each other for quite some time before Gortys tapped on his shoulder. Loader Bot pulled away and looked at her; there was a smirk upon her face and he wasn't exactly sure why.

"You know… that thing I did earlier. Yeah, that was a kiss by the way. Well… a robot kiss!"

Loader Bot instantly felt his body heat up at this realization. Oh… that was why he felt different.

"Oh," he managed to get out, "...well now I'm embarrassed."

Gortys couldn't help but laugh at his adorable comment. She wrapped her arms over his shoulders and grinned at him. This guy may act tough, but around her he sure did become a flustered mess. Well, she knew that was one of the many reasons why she loved him, and she wouldn't be surprised if she would find many more. She leaned forward again and gave him another sparky kiss before pulling back again.

"I love you, Loader Bot."

Those words kept replaying over and over in his head now. It was the sweetest words he'd ever heard, and he knew he was never going to be tired of hearing them either. He also knew he'd never get tired of saying them himself. He was so thankful that he had told her how he felt, and he was going to make sure she would always know too.

"I love you too, Gortys."

This time, he leaned forward and kissed her, to which Gortys happily kissed back. Finally, after going to hell and back, they were together. And they were going to stay that way for a very long time.


End file.
